Version control sounds like a developer concern. It is actually a business risk question: can changes be undone, can you see who changed what, and can you get your site back if something goes wrong.
Version control records every change to your website's code, who made it and when, and lets any change be undone. For you as the owner it matters for three reasons: broken changes can be reversed in minutes, there is an audit trail, and the repository is a portable copy of your site that is not locked inside your agency.
What it does
- Records every change with an author, timestamp and description.
- Allows any change to be undone, individually rather than by restoring a whole backup.
- Lets several people work without overwriting each other.
- Enables safe experimentation on branches that do not touch the live site.
- Gives you a portable copy of the site's code, in your account.
Why it matters to you specifically
| Situation | Without version control | With it |
|---|---|---|
| A change breaks the site | Restore a backup, losing other work | Revert that one change in minutes |
| Something changed and nobody knows why | Guesswork | Look up who changed it and when |
| Changing agency | Hope you receive a zip file | Transfer repository access |
| Two people editing | One overwrites the other | Changes merged |
| Testing a risky change | Do it live and hope | Branch, test, then merge |
It is not a backup
Version control tracks code. It does not track your database, which holds your content, users and orders, and it does not track uploaded media in most setups.
You need both. A repository plus a database backup covers you. Either alone leaves a gap that becomes obvious at the worst moment.
What to ask your developer
- Is our site in version control, and where is the repository hosted?
- Is the account in our name, or yours?
- Can we be given access today?
- Are deployments made from the repository, or edited directly on the server?
- Is the database backed up separately?
The fourth question matters more than it sounds. If people edit files directly on the live server, the repository drifts out of sync and stops reflecting what is actually running, which makes it useless in an emergency.
Frequently asked questions
What is version control?
A system that records every change to your website's code, including who made it and when, and allows any change to be undone. Git is the standard, usually hosted on a service such as GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket.
Do I need version control for a small website?
If anyone changes the code, yes. It costs nothing on most hosted services and turns a broken change from a restore-the-backup emergency into a two-minute revert. It also gives you a portable copy of your site.
Is version control the same as a backup?
No. It tracks code, not your database or uploaded media. Your content, users and orders live in the database, which needs separate backups. You need both, and each covers what the other misses.
Should the repository be in my name?
Ideally yes, or your organisation's, with your agency given access. That way you retain the code if the relationship ends. A repository in an agency's personal account is the same ownership trap as a domain registered in their name.
What if my developer edits files directly on the server?
It works until two people do it at once, or a change breaks something and there is no record of what changed. It also means any repository drifts out of sync with what is actually live, which makes it useless when you need it.